Justice In Plato's The Republic

In the selection The Republic, the nature of justice is being discussed. Glaucon is the speaker, which is a student of Socrates. Socrates is a classical Greek philosopher, credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Glaucon is presenting a commonly held view of justice to Socrates. He argues that “all who practice it (justice) do so unwillingly, as something necessary, not as something good.”

In this world, many people look out for just themselves. Justice can be considered as an individual’s happiness. In society, standards are not always decided by selfish men. For an alternative route, society should discover the opinions of many. For example, in the modern society in which we live in; many people feel as if though that justice has a different meaning. No person is alike, which is why people voice their views based on their individuality. Their personal traits and experiences are both of the factors that differentiate their meaning to justice.

Glaucon uses the Ring of Gyges argument as an example. “Those who practice justice do it unwillingly and because they lack the power to do injustice.” The ring …show more content…
Polemarchus, a famous Athenian; expresses justice as “making the right decision” or “give people what they deserve.” Socrates however found a flaw to this particular definition. He believes that there is a loss of a person being best at mistreating enemies and gaining friends. Influences on one another play a huge rule since instincts are best determined on how a person is. Human nature has drastically changed since then, and factors could have contributed on Glaucon’s faulty view. The foundation of Greece was still undergoing radical changes. After all, they indeed have dealt with the Dark Ages that made Greek history. There were many obvious manifestations of adaptions and modifications. Old kingdoms turned into city states, the merchant class risen to trade and tyrants had more